Gotta Stop Fast!

Barley, a dog, springs forward in pursuit of her cow toy, her whole body as blur as her teeth make contact with their target.

While I do what I can to keep Barley in reasonable shape, there isn’t currently a fenced zone where she can really break into a full sprint for any real distance. Still, I wouldn’t want her to get entirely rust, so I will throw toys for her to spring after over much shorter distances, mere tens of feet along the unobstructed paths in my apartment. This has given Barley not only practice in explosive acceleration, but also in precisely controlled deceleration. Despite her evident speed in this photo, for example, she successfully comes to a complete halt and reverses course before hitting the plants or the patio door.